Day 6 Flats and Handwashing Challenge- Flat Style!

I am a little late on this post. It should have been done yesterday, but we had a busy day. So here it is now!

Day 6 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is all about the folds! Flat folding seems to be something that turns a lot of people away from flats. It does take some extra time after washing and drying, or before you diaper baby, but I love the versatility of flats. You can choose how to fold them to get the most absorbency in the right areas for your baby.

Each person has different favorite folds. For us, we experiment with different folds, but I always come back to two. For our large receiving blankets, I use the "kite fold" and with our large Cloth-eez flats, I use the airplane fold.

Left, large receiving blanket. Right, large Cloth-eez organic cotton flat

I've found the "kite fold" on the large receiving blanket works the best for that large of a piece of material. It puts the most layers of fabric right in the middle where my son wets the most. We use these for over night diapers.

"Kite fold" on a large gauze receiving blanket

For our regular large Cloth-eez flats, I prefer the "airplane fold". I just love the way it fits my son. When folded properly, it creates a gusset around the leg to help hold in messes. This fold also puts most of the layers in the middle area.

"airplane fold" gusset around the leg holds in messes

"airplane fold" on a large Cloth-eez flat

To fasten our flats, I use a Snappi. You could also use pins or Boingo's. Snappi's are just what we have always used. 

Lyric (18months) with "airplane fold" and Snappi

I usually try to fold my diapers right after they come off the dry line. That way when I need one I can just grab and put on. Otherwise, I have to try and fold a diaper really fast and then go catch my son after he has escaped. 

This is what it looks like trying to fold our diapers. My big helper!

There is one other fold I recently tried that I did like. It is the "prefold fold". Basically, you are folding the flat to look similar to a prefold diaper. I'm not a fan of the fit so much, but I do love that if there is a poo, it is very easy to clean with my diaper sprayer. I don't have a bunch of layers of fabric to worry about unfolding all over the place while spraying. Just one flat surface to spray off.

Those are our favorites here! Finding something that works for you is not that hard. Plus, you can even make your own fold to fit your baby better!